Sharp Knife
by baby-kitsune9
Summary: It's been a month since April and Casey married and already there is trouble brewing. April's cousin Setsuna is in a bad situation and her health and her sanity is on the line. And to top it off she's coming to live with April. Can the guys help? Leo/OC
1. Chapter 1

It all started with a surprise visit to April and Casey's place a month after the two had gotten married. The four had mentioned to the couple on their wedding day that they wouldn't be by for any visits for at least a month to allow them some uninterrupted time alone.

Splinter, their father and master had even gone so far as to tell the couple that he would enforce the rule with cruel and strange punishments then had walked off with a swish of his tail and an evil sounding cackle that had the four brothers practically shaking in their shells.

Sometime after the wedding April had called to tell them that they were moving to a different place and had given them the new adress and told them which apartment was her new home, then all communication with them had gone back to silence.

That is until this morning after the four had finished their training with Splinter when Casey had called all jazzed up about them being able to visit again.

So after wringing the promise from them that they would visit, after their patrol, Casey hung up and didn't call again until sometime around one p.m. to complain about April taking him out shopping.

It was raining hard, and after a long hard night of patroling the chill of the rain soothed the burning ache of the muscles under their skin as they leapt over onto the emergency fire escape and deftly climbed into the window. April and Casey's new apartment building was the standard for a nice neighborhood. It stood close to seven stories high, and the apartments were larger than expected.

Almost like condo's.

Casey was coming out of the kitchen with some popcorn while April sat on the couch with a phone to her ear and a displeased look on her face when her husband noticed the four brothers standing just inside the window looking around in awe since April's former apartment had been nothing at all like this. It was just so- so spacious!

"Hey it's the guys!" Casey exclaimed happily as he practially thrust the bowl into April's lap and jumped over the couch to give his brothers hugs. "Leo, Ralph, Don, Mikey! How are you? I've missed you!"

Leo and Ralph stepped back and chuckled at Casey's dramatic exclimation as he threw his arms around Mikey and Don's necks and kissed both of them on the cheek. Embarrassing the two to the point where they groaned and muttered various oaths. Pretending to be disgusted by the display of affection.

April growled low in her throat and slammed the popcorn bowl down on the coffee table in front of her rattling the coke bottles sitting there as she stood up and put a hand over the mouth piece and hissed at her husband. _"Shut. Up." _

Casey instantly looked taken aback by his wife's outburst and dropped his arms back to his sides and blinked at her as she took her hand away from the mouth piece and started talking again.

"Yes Aunty Marie. Yes, I know. It is a tad bit troubling considering her health problems. However-" April said in a softer tone as she turned and after motioning for the five males to keep their voices down walked off into the kitchen.

The second that she was out of the room Don asked, "Wow, I've seen April angry before. Why is she so angry looking?"

"Did you do something to her again?" Ralph asked in an amused tone.

"Are we in the way of something Casey?" Leo asked curiously.

"Is she mad cause we came over without calling?" Mikey asked. Casey shrugged his shoulders.

"No. It's not because of you-" Casey muttered as he ran his fingers through his shoulder length dark hair.

"It's cause there is something going on with one of her family-" Casey said with a sigh. "Apparently her great, great, great Aunt Marie-"

"Marie. Marie..." Don said thoughtfully as Leo asked.

"Wasn't she the one who-" Ralph cut him off rudely.

"The crazy old bat that stepped on Splinter's tail then laughed."

"Yeah-" Casey said, looking a little bit uneasy. He knew how much Splinter and the guys hated that particual woman and her cruel ways. But what could he do? She was like a _million_ and had both feet in the grave. "That would be her. Anyways she's at her wits end about what to do with April's cousin. She was just released from the hospital after having a mental melt down of some sort a month or so ago after being assaulted."

The four visibly tensed a bit as Casey continued speaking. "She didn't tell anyone that she had been raped and instead closed out Marie and everyone else. A week or so after the attack happened she really freaked and swallowed two whole bottles of sleeping pills. She wasn't found for close to twenty minutes and by then she was barely alive."

"They managed to save her and pump her stomach but they kept her medicated because they felt she needed the rest. after a few days they woke her up and her aunt Marie gave her a choice. Stay in the hospital or live in the gutter or something like that."

"What? Why would April's aunt do that?" Don asked in a horrified tone. Leo reached out and put his hand over his brother's mouth and made a shushing sound before saying softly.

"April's aunt had a reason for doing something like that right?"

"Marie...was close to her eighties when that stuff happened. Her heart is bad, and she just can't take anymore. Now I'm not saying that April's cousin deserved to be abandoned either given the circumstances, but from what April told me about her- She's very deeply disturbed and things just got worse for her because she found out that she's pregnant with her assaliants baby recently. And to complicate things more, it's too late to abort it. I think Marie called here to ask if we could move the kid in with us or something."

"Can you and April handle having someone so distraught in with you 24/7? I mean you guys just got married a month ago. Wouldn't it be bad for your relationship?" Mikey asked worriedly.

"I doubt it would be that bad since the kid is old enough to live on her own. So if April thinks she can't handle having her here then we could set her up in an apartment close by and just keep a check on her." Casey said as April suddenly stopped talking and hung up the phone before ripping the cord out of the wall and shrieking angrily.

"That damned witch!" Causing the five men to all flinch at both her tone and her language a second before she came walking back into the living room and looked at them then said in a softer tone, "I seriously hate that woman sometimes."

"What is it April?" Casey asked in a concerned tone as his wife came walking into the living room looking upset enough to rip someone's head off.

"Marie tried to have Setsuna put in a damned mental hospital this morning!"

_"What?" _

"What for?" Ralph asked curiously. A blank look on his face as he crossed his arms over the front of his shell as he exchanged a look with Leo. If April's cousin bore watching then the more information they had the more they could determine if they could help or not.

"Well apparently she thinks Setsuna is crazy-" April snarled as she picked up one of the soda bottles on the coffee table and with a growl hurled it across the room where it hit the wall and shattered into a million pieces. "That poor girl isn't crazy! She needs theropy and someone who actually gives a damn about her! Not to be so doped up that she's out of her frigging mind. Especially in her present condition."

The turtles were silent, though they agreed with their adopted sister on that point. They had seen enough over the past twenty five years to know what happened when pregnant women were doped up. Frankly the outcome left an bitter acidic taste in their mouths.

"Is she going to be coming here?" Casey asked almost nervously. April turned her head and looked at them.

"Oh your damn right she's coming here. And while I'm trying to set her life back into order I'm wresting the money that that bitch Aunt of mine stole from Setsuna, back."

Casey and the turtles looked a tad bit confused as April let out a frustrated growl then said in an irritated tone, "Marie took Setsuna in because of the money her parents left to her when they died. And since her parents died in the same car accident mine died in, we were pretty close as kids despite the gap in age. So she should be comfortable here or close to here. We'll figure it out I guess." April sighed and took several deep breaths then suddenly seemed to drain of her anger and just looked- well she looked like _their_ April again.

Though they could sense that she was still upset she finally smiled at them and held her arms out for a hug from all of them. Muttering that she was happy to see them again. She had missed her green brothers very much.


	2. Chapter 2

After that everyone settled down to talk and catch up, though Leo seemed to be the only person other than April who was able to push the conversation from earlier from his mind. No, he didn't seem to be able to let it go. Knowing how much it bothered April and secretly Casey as well, had him curious. So from time to time when no one was paying attention he asked questions.

Questions like, "Setsuna is a Japanese name. Is she Japanese or half?"

April looked over at the blue masked turtle and absently answered. "Half. Though she and her parents all lived in Japan for a while when she was a little kid."

"How old is she?"

"Twenty...one. No wait, Twenty two." April said with a small frown.

"Is she anything like you?" Leo questioned, already itching to know if the girl could become another friend or part of their extended family.

"She was in her younger days. After all of the trauma she's been through I no longer know what she's like. We lost touch after Marie took her in. But I remember that she was very calm, kind of quiet and shy, very smart. And very confident in herself and her ability to take care of herself-"

"She sounds nice." April didn't respond to his comment. She just stared ahead at the TV screen as Mikey put in a movie then scurried back out of the way. Leo stared at her for several heartbeats wondering if she was going to say anything. And after a few more minutes he settled himself in his chair with a sigh. April looked like she was a million miles away.

(********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************)

Setsuna lay face down on the hotel bed feeling more tired than she had ever been before in her life. She couldn't believe that Marie had tried to have her committed! And after she had just gotten out of the hospital again too.

All she had wanted to do was grab her things and leave town. It was the decision that she had made while she had been trying to recover. She had figured that leaving and starting over fresh would be the best thing for her, but the second she had told Marie that she was taking the money her parents left to her- the old woman had gone ape shit on her and hit her with her cane a few times screaming that the money wasn't hers.

Her parents hadn't even wanted her. They had wanted to abort her before she had been born. She called her stupid, foolish- She'd called her a whore and told her that if she wanted money then she could spread her legs and earn it.

The physical abuse as well as the shit her Aunt said to her had sparked righteous indignation in her, causing her to temporarily forget her new situation and grab the old womans cane and then push her down. The sickening crack of a bone/bones cracking followed by Marie's screaming had snapped her out of her red haze long enough to realise that she had just seriously hurt an elderly woman.

The same woman that had raised her no less.

Angry and scared beyond what she had felt before- even on the day that she had been raped- she grabbed the money her parents left to her from her Aunts safe along with her mother's wedding band and engagement ring, while calling 911 to get her Aunt help so that she wouldn't die. Then grabbed some of her personal effects and then left the house.

But not before spitting on the floor next to her Aunt and calling her a sharp tongued old bitch.

She then went outside of town and bought a bus ticket and then hitched a ride three towns over where she rented a car under an assumed name, ate enough food for a small army, then went shopping for necessities and then found herself a hotel in which to sleep.

The second she'd stepped into her hotel room, she'd dropped her shopping bags on the floor and then kicked the door shut and then staggered over to the bed and flopped down onto it. Not in the least bothered by the dust that had appeared around the top of the blanket where she was laying. She was simply too tired and emotionally drained to care.

Not only that but her fore arms and left shoulder still hurt from where Marie had hit her with her oak cane. There were red, raw looking welts on her skin where she'd been hit with bruises forming around them. The purplish, blue, black smudges stood out horribly against her ivory skin.

_If April saw those..._ Marie's days on Earth would be numbered. And though that thought gave Setsuna a strange sense of warped glee. Oh how she wished that April was right there to see the marks. Not that it mattered much since she'd have the damn things for the next week or more.

In the meantime she needed to rest and possibly find a walk in clinic that could check the baby for her so that she would know if it had been hurt by Marie's earlier violence.


	3. Chapter 3

Later that night after leaving the apartment so that April and Casey could go to bed the turtles made their way back to their lair in the sewers. "Did you learn anything new from April?" Don asked Leo after noticing that he had been unusually quiet for a while now.

"Her cousin is half Japanese, twenty two years old, her Aunty Marie is a mean old woman that took the girl in after her parents died because of the money her parents left to her... April said that her personality was very calm, quiet, shy-"

"Of course that was before the trauma of being raped." Ralph said in an angry tone. Leo only hummed, understanding why his younger brother seemed so pissed about the mere mention of the attack on April's cousin. _That never would have happened if we had been watching her._ Leo thought darkly.

"Yeah that's probably true-" Mikey said before saying. "Since she was hurt in that way, she'll likely be very wary and even more quiet."

"Which means that if Casey and April give her too much privacy, she might manage to hurt herself again and no one will be there to stop or help her."

"That's not true-" Don said in a soft tone. "It's entirely possible that now that she's going to be a mother, she may have pulled herself together for the sake of the child. If that's the case then it would take a _massive trigger_ to cause her to freak out again and even contemplate killing herself. Much less a defenseless unborn baby."

"Massive trigger?" Ralph, and Mikey said in unison. Both of them looked at Don with curious expressions on their faces. They didn't know what the brainiac meant but if he was mentioning the words 'massive' and 'trigger' in the same sentence, then whatever he meant must be bad. _Really bad_.

Like, _the-Shredder-is-alive-and-back-in-commission_, kind of bad. Ralph started to look a little bit antsy as he finally sucked in a breath then asked, "So what's the plan Leo?"

"Plan?" Leo echoed stupidly. He didn't really have a plan at this point. All he knew was that April's family was by right an extention of _their_ family. And their newest family member was in dire need.

He would have to speak with Splinter before he did anything. However he had already told Casey before they had left the apartment tonight that the second that April's cousin came into town, he should call and let them know.

They could work something out so that someone was watching Setsuna every night when she thought no one else was looking. This way if she decided to try something someone would be right there to stop her. Leo was so lost in his thoughts that he barely noticed a green hand waving in front of his eyes before he heard Ralph say, "Whoa, he isn't even blinking."

Leo reached out and without warning grabbed Ralph's wrist with one hand and with the other, he nailed him in the side and then laid him out flat then stepped over him with a soft irritated growl, "Disrespectful little punk."

Leaving Don and Mikey gaping at his back as Ralph quickly scrambled to his feet and _glared_ at him.

Part of him wanted to go after Leo and tear into him for laying him out flat like that but another part of him must have recognised that Leo was in no mood to fight with him right now. His mind was too consumed by trying to solve the problem at hand and help April's cousin before disaster struck.

After all anything that hurt their sister would hurt them as well. So it was only logical that they would try to protect April from something like that. They were protectors and guardians by nature, failing to protect their family even to the smallest degree would be the same as dying to them.

The pain, the sheer helplessness in itself was _unimaginably _frustrating.

Not being able to protect their friends and family made them all but useless. And if there was something they hated- it was feeling useless. The walked into the lair a while later, each of them thinking his own thoughts on April's cousin when their father peeked up over the back of the couch and greeted them.

"Welcome home my sons. Did you have a nice visit?"

Everyone muttered. "It was fine."

"It was fun."

"It was nice to see April and Casey again."

"I've got a headache!" Mikey all but shouted as he ran for the kitchen, seeking a quiet place to escape for the time being.

Startled by his youngest son's outburst Splinted craned his neck a little bit and watched Mikey disappear as Don walked over to the couch and flopped himself down across the back of the seat so that his face was hidden in the cushions next to his father who immidiately recognise this behavior as 'moping' and sighed as he picked up the TV remote and turned the screen off.

"What is bothering you my son?" Splinter asked softly as he patted the back of Don's head with his hand. All he got in response was,

_"Hepril's muzin."_ Splinter blinked and felt his ears twitch a little bit and looked back to see if Leo or Ralph were still in the room and sighed in disappointment to find his other two sons already gone.


	4. Chapter 4

Setsuna was up bright and early the next day due to the fact that she was feeling a tad bit sick. Luckily she had had the foresight to buy some saltines and ginger ale last night before getting her hotel room. And after managing to crawl out of bed and find them she ate several crackers and sipped a little bit on the ginger ale before her stomach settled.

After that she set them aside and got up from her place on the floor and slowly moved over to the nightstand to see if it had a phone book so that she could see if she could find a doctor to check her out. Unfortunately something occurred to her as she was rummaging for the phone book.

She wasn't familiar with this town and didn't know about any of the doctors and clinics in it. She didn't know where they were located. Or if they were any good. She didn't want just anyone checking her, after all. She wanted someone that she could trust. Someone that she could come back too. She sighed tiredly and sat down on the bed for a moment.

It looked like she would have to wait until she was closer to her destination or at the very least settled into her new life before she could be checked out. Which meant that the next thing for her to do would be to take a shower, get dressed, and get something to eat before she left town.

Sighing again she used one hand to push her thick black hair back from her face and stood up and started towards the bathroom when she caught sight of herself in the mirror behind the small TV sitting on the dresser across from the bed and stopped. God she barely even recognised the face in the mirror as her own...

In the time since she'd been admitted to the hospital she had lost close to seven pounds, her hair had grown out from mid back length to fall nearly past her waist. Her skin had lost the healthy peach color it used to have and was now a pasty white.

She was still pretty. Just in a _haunted_-_fairy-tale-come-to-life_ sort of way.

"Okay, new plan-" Setsuna muttered to herself. "First a bath, then some shopping for some eye shadow and blush. Then a haircut and then I'll leave town." She'd be damned if she started her new life looking like the ghost of fucking Snow White.

Turning away from the mirror she went on into the bathroom and closed the door behind her and turned on the tap so that the water could get warm.

Forty five minutes later Setsuna was dressed in her new clothes a pair of jeans and a soft green sweater (which were a bit baggy on her new slender frame) her wet hair was twisted up away from her nape and held in place by a hair clip as she loaded her rental car and with a firm slam closed the door behind her as she made her way to the car with her last bag.

It took three minutes extra to return the room key to the guy that ran the hotel but once that was done she made her way back outside and climbed into the car and peeled out of the parking lot. She recalled from yesterday that there were a few pharmacy's and stores along the main high way along with some places to eat.

She drove along the main highway for close to twenty minutes before finding a place to buy some makeup and quickly pulled into the parking lot and got out of the car after checking to make sure that she at least had thirty dollars on her.

Now generally speaking, she wasn't a vain person. She had grown up being told that she was _hideous_ and though she logically knew that that wasn't true, she still occasionally liked to wear a touch of makeup. Just to make herself feel more feminine. If for no other reason than it soothed her to do so.

She walked into the store and automatically found a five dollar bottle of perfume that she remembered her mother had worn, and grabbed it as she made her way over to the makeup display and grabbed a pale, pale rose pink blush and some little two dollar packets of eyeshadow in mint green, turquise blue, sky blue, pink, and light brown.

Then out of curiosity walked over to the fingernail display and looked for some black, teal, sapphire blue, green, and several different shades of pink. Once she felt she was done she walked up to the register and dropped everything onto the counter in front of the cashier except for the perfume bottle. She didn't drop it, rather she treated it much more gently since it reminded her of her mother, and set it down gently.

Earning a funny look from the cashier who nervously asked if she had found everything that she wanted. Setsuna thought on it for a second then suddenly asked. "Do you have any hair clips?"

"Aisle five." The cashier said automatically as he picked up one of the items she'd dropped and held it up as if to ask, Should I start ringing these up?

Setsuna nodded her head then turned and started towards aile five as she said, "Go ahead and ring those up. This won't take me long." If she could find any hair clips with butterflies or dragonflies then she'd buy one or two. However once she cound the hair clips she felt a little bit disappointed that there were no butterfly clips or dragonfly clips.

Sighing she turned and walked back to the front of the store and paid for her stuff then walked out without a second thought. Next on her list of things to do was a haircut, then breakfast.


	5. Chapter 5

After getting her hair cut at a salon just outside of town, Setsuna decided to forget about breakfast at this moment since she wasn't all that hungry.

And instead drove around for six hours or so before stopping for a pee/lunch break during which she would take the time to find a pay phone, and call her cousin and see if it was okay for her to drop in and stay for a little while.

She walked out of the diner bathroom and looked around the country theme interior and smiled a little bit as the song, Achey Breakey Heart, started playing over the speakers over head. She recalled her father had taken a bizarre liking to this song when she was a little girl. And had felt inspired to buy a piece of land in the country and turn it into a ranch.

And on the day that he had taken them to see it, he had pulled her up into his arms and danced to the song while it played on the radio while she had giggled and shrieked.

She sighed and jumped a little bit when one of the waitresses tapped her on her shoulder. "Y-Yes?"

"You okay doll?" The woman asked curiously as she looked Setsuna over.

"I-I'm fine." Setsuna said politely. The waitress didn't look terribly convinced but shrugged her shoulders and asked if she was ready to take a seat. Setsuna nodded her head and let the woman lead her over to a window booth then hand her a menu and asked if she knew what she wanted to drink.

Setsuna looked over the back of the menu and ordered a small glass sweet tea, and a large glass of whole milk. Earning a funny look from the woman taking her order, yet she said nothing as she told her that she'd be back in a minute for her order.

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April had gotten several phone calls over the period of the late night after she and Casey had gone to bed. Which had inevitably ended in her finding out that Marie was in the hospital and Setsuna was assumed to be the person responsible.

Which had caused April to finally get up at four in the morning and start pacing around her living room, her stress levels shooting through the roof as she tried to understand what would cause Setsuna to break their Aunt's hip and send her to the hospital. However after the way Marie had acted towards Splinter at her wedding it was safe to assume that Setsuna had been baited.

Or at the very least cornered and feeling desperate. Then again it could have been an accident. Knowing everything that Setsuna had on her plate at the moment, one wrong word or move could have set her off to the point where she would have been blinded to everything but how much she wanted to escape.

And if Marie had just happened to be standing between her and the door at that time, well, accidents _did_ happen. Still... It didn't stop her from wondering where Setsuna was, or worrying about whether or not she was safe.

April stopped her pacing and looked at the clock hanging on the wall a few feet away and sighed tiredly. Jeez, she had been pacing around for close to four hours. Why the hell was she driving herself crazy over something she couldn't help?

Setsuna would call her when she was ready and not a moment before- The phone rang and April tripped over her feet and jumped a few pieces of furniture just to get to it. Her heart in her throat she tried checking the caller ID to get an idea of who may be calling and say that it was an Iowa number and frowned before picking it up.

"Hello? Setsuna?"

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Setsuna finished her meal in record time and paid the bill then asked where she could find a pay phone and made sure that she had enough quarters to last her for an hour long call if need be then made her way to the phone, ignoring the various people around her. She had to wait a second or so for her turn but once the guy in front of her got off the phone she snatched off of the hook and started pushing quarters into the machine then dialed.

She wasn't exactly sure what to say to April as the phone started ringing, all she really knew was that she didn't want to sound so desperate that she couldn't take 'No' for an answer if April didn't want her underfoot.

It rang five times, and for a moment she started to hold her breath. Wondering if maybe April was at work when finally someone picked up and she heard the familiar drone of her cousin's anxious voice. "Hello? Setsuna?"

_Crap._ Setsuna thought as she listened to April say her name a few times. She could tell by April's voice that she had heard a few things. Which meant that she wouldn't be staying with her for a while.

She hung up the phone and turned away for a second as she tried to think. She still had quite a bit of money so maybe instead of staying with April, she could find someplace familiar to them both and just stay there instead. At least that way she would have her freedom to do things as she pleased. And besides April was smart.

She'd figure out where she was heading and probably meet her at the door within two days of her arrival.

(*******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************)

April looked at the phone as the line went dead and felt her right eye twitch a little bit as she gnashed her teeth in frustration and quickly grabbed the Shell Cell and dialed the turtles number. It rang once before Splinter picked up. "Hello? April, is everything alright child?" The rat asked curiously.

April took a breath, trying to calm herself down, but it was a losing battle. So after quickly saying, "I'm sorry for this Splinter-" She let out an ear piercing scream so loud that it drown out the sound of Splinters oaths.


	6. Chapter 6

Leo and the others were eating breakfast in the kitchen area of their lair when they heard Splinter bellow. "Leonardo! Raphael! Michelangelo! Donatello! Come to the Dojo now!"

The four echanged a look and quickly dropped what they were doing and made their way to the Dojo that they had helped design and build for their master/father so that they could continue their training as ninja's. And were just in time to see the very tip of Splinter's tail disappear into the Dojo before the door slammed.

The four echanged another look and huddled together in front of the door and started whispering. "Okay has anyone done anything that would upset Splinter recently? Any practical jokes? Any arguments?"

"No."

"Nope."

"Nuh-uh." Everyone looked at Mikey in disbelief causing him to flush a nice red under his green skin as he said defensively, "What? I haven't!" And it was true. He hadn't done anything. Not since the last time anyways. But that had been a mere accident. Still, the result was something that he hadn't forgotten and likely wouldn't for a while.

Especially since it was rare that their master lost his temper so completely.

"Well if I didn't do anything, and Ralph and Mikey didn't do anything-"

"Hey!" Don said in a mock outraged tone. Leo looked at him blankly and he hung his head and sighed. Damn, he was being excluded because he never did anything aside from messing with nerdy stuff. So naturally he wouldn't be included as one of the usual suspects.

"Maybe what set Splinter off was one of Mikey's old pranks." Ralph said with an evil smirk as Mikey whimpered.

"Please don't even joke about that." The youngest turtle said weakly. If it really was one of his old pranks that set their master off then Mikey had no doubt that he'd be an ashtray by the end of the day.

Ralph was about to say something else when all of a sudden Splinter shouted again, "Boys!" Startled and slightly panicked the four fell in line and waited for their master to invite them into the Dojo. They were waiting for close to twenty minutes before they heard a low growl of annoyance from inside their master's personal space as he made his way over to the door and opened it as he shouted again then stopped upon seeing the four of them standing right there.

He stared at them through narrowed eyes for a moment, his tail twitching in irritation. He saw Don open his mouth and figured that this was as good a time as any to hand him the remains of the Shell Cell since he'd crushed it in his hand about half way through April's scream.

He reached into his robe and blinked when Mikey got a horrified look on his face and said something to the others before diving for cover behind the closest piece of furniture, while Splinter finally drew out the crushed piece of metal and handed it to Don and growled.

"Would any of you care to enlighten me on why April called here earlier, screaming?" Everyone looked slightly concerned/alarmed as Splinter's ears twitched. If April had called then something must have happened to her cousin, which meant that she was probably going out of her mind with worry.

Leo tapped Don's elbow and subtely motioned for him to leave. The rest of them would stay and explain things to their master.

(**************************************************************************************************************************************************************************)

April was driving Casey crazy with her pacing. And when she wasn't pacing... she was crying or breaking dishes. Honestly he understood her frustration and worry, after all her cousin sounded like she really needed help.

Which was all well and good, but she was slowly driving his wife insane.

And frankly, he liked April better when she wasn't an emotional mess like she was now. She'd been sitting on the couch for the past hour sobbing uncontrolably. It had gotten so bad that everytime the phone rang Casey would snatch it from his wife's limp fingers and growl at the person on the other end that she'd call them back in a month or something.

_No one_ was an exception. Not even her Aunty Marie who sat on the phone and argued with him for almost ten minutes before he hung up on her. She called back nine times, demanding to talk to April- the senile old bat.

It got quiet for a second as April sniffled a little bit then wailed. "W-Why w-would s-she h-hang u-up o-on m-me?"

"Aw honey-" Casey said as he hung up on Marie again and quickly crossed the room to sit down on the couch next to his wife and wrap his arms around her. "I'm sure that she must be worried about what you may think of her if you found out that she had pushed your Aunt down on purpose. God knows I'd be thinking the same thing if I managed to get in close enough to push the old witch down some stairs."

April stiffened in his grasp and started to slip her hands between them so that she could push him away when the phone rang again.

_Oh shit Casey, you've gone and done it now. _He thought as muttered an oath as both he and April turned their heads to look at the phone.

The caller ID read, Gatsbey Hospital. The same hospital that Marie was staying in for the time being. Casey looked back at his wife and found her staring narrow eyed at him. "Don't even think about it." He warned in a stern tone. Hoping that for just once she might actually listen to him.

She thinned her lips and set her jaw in the same stubborn manner that told him that she was about to clean his clock. So Casey did the only thing he could think of, he tightened his hold on her while tossing the phone across the room and felt her dig her sharp little fingernails into his ribs and yelped but didn't let go.


	7. Chapter 7

When Don climbed into April and Casey's apartment through the window he went slack jawed at the sight of April in her fuzzy yellow night robe, sitting on top of Casey's back with his hands pinned, beating his head against the mohagany floor. Repeatedly.

While growling like a wild animal. _Holy Shit- _Don thought in disbelief. It was like watching watching Animal Kingdom. It was just freaking unbeleavable! "April! Stop!" Don cried as he started to run over to help Casey when April turned her head and looked at him, the piercing glare of her green eyes stopping the turtle in his tracks as a chill shot down his spine.

Why did he suddenly get the feeling that if he got any closer, that she'd kill him? _Uh...okay. _So if he couldn't get close to her then... how was he going to help Casey? He wondered helplessly when the phone started to ring across the room. April paused what she was doing only long enough to snap.

"Answer it."

Don raise an eye ride at her and was startled when she picked up something on the floor next to her and Casey and threw it at him. It missed and she flushed red and yelled. "I said pick it up!" Don put his hands up where she could see them and slowly backed away to go do as she had bid him wondering if she was going to be like this when she finally got pregnant. Cause if so, he would probably refrain from visiting with the others until _after_ the baby was born.

Just to be on the safe side.

He walked over to where the ringing was coming from and looked around for a moment, noticing that the phone wasn't hanging on the wall or on the large shelf a few feet from him. It took him a moment but finally after looking down he found it and picked it up.

Luckily whoever was on the other end was persistant, cause the phone was still ringing.

Pressing the button Don put the phone up to his ear and said a tentative hello and was rewarded by a soft amused sounding, "Hello. Who might you be?"

(*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************)

Setsuna had driven for about three more hours after her stop around lunch time before realizing that she needed to call April back and tell her that she was okay before she went Rambo on someone's ass.

So she stoped by a gas station and got some gas and took a potty break and bought a small cooler that she filled up with ice, some soda's, milk, sandwich meats, mayo and mustard and grabbed several other things to eat.

Bread, chips, candy bars and such then after putting everything away in the car dug some change out of her pants pocket and found a pay phone and fed it a few coins then dialed April's number.

She had expected her cousin to be so anxious by the time she called again that she might be in a combative mood. Still, she owed it to April to call her and tell her that she was at least alright. The phone must have rung a dozen times or more before she found herself counting the oddly annoying sound. She managed to get to fifteen before someone actually picked up.

Her heart in her throat, she waited for April to say something and couldn't seem to mask her inital surprise fast enough when a male voice that couldn't belong to April's hubby hesitantly said hello. Unsure of what else to do or say Setsuna answered, "Hello. Who might you be?"

_"I-I'm Donatello. But you can call me either Don or Donny... Are you April's cousin?" _

Setsuna made a humming sound before answering. "Yeah."

_"Oh thank god! April's going nuts! Are you okay? Where are you?" _

"I'm fine. And I'm nowhere that you need to concern yourself with."

_"I beg to differ. Casey's bruises tell me that I need to know where you are right now." _

"I'm at a gas station." She heard a sigh from the other end of the phone a second before the man asked again in a more frustrated tone.

_"Where?" _

"Nowhere."

_"I can see that we'll have to do this the hard way-" _Don said as she heard the distinct sound of fingers flying across a keyboard and took the phone away from her ear to stare at it for a moment. It sounded like he was planning to locate her by satellite or something. But that was impossible since only military personel could locate people that way.

So maybe he was attempting to locate her some other way. But how? She heard a sound of triumph and put the phone back to her ear just in time to hear the man say. _"You're two days drive from New York, at a gas station called Nancy's and... Hey, your pretty cute with your hair curling around your face like that-" _

Setsuna hung up the phone and quickly ducked somewhere where she hoped the satellite couldn't pin point her and wondered what sort of friends April had been hanging out with.

(*******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************)

Splinter was eerily silent as Leo signed out their explination about April's cousin and her situation. He was more than half through when his Shell Cell started vibrating, startling him slightly as he checked the number. Once he was sure that it wasn't April he signed a quick apology to his master and quickly got to his feet and tagged Raph in to finish the story as he made his way past him and Mikey, out of the dojo so that he could answer the cell.

He had just put it to his ear when he heard Don speaking in a rush. "Setsuna called. She's safe about two days drive from the city." Leo listened to him spill out the story of April beating the stuffing out of Casey and mentioned the time they had disappeared for three days because of the Foot clan and how Aprils place had been a mess upon their return.

Then he steered his one sided conversation back to Setsuna and finally said, "I wasn't on the phone with her long. I think that she knew I had hijacked a satellite to locate her." At this admission, Leo blinked but continued to listen until Don wore himself out a bit before asking.

"Does she need anything?"

"I dunno since I didn't have the chance to ask but seeing as she's so wary- I would imagine that she needs quite a bit. Doctors for the baby, a theropist for herself, a place to stay, a job-"

"Nothing that we can help her with." Leo said softly as he hung his head. _Damn_.


	8. Chapter 8

Later that day- once the sun had gone down. Leo and the others went by Aprils to get Don so that they could go patrolling, and found Casey laying on the couch with bandages around his head and a pack of frozen peas over his left eye and a small wet rag against his busted lip.

Leo looked at Don questioningly as he moved aside for Raph and Mikey to come through the window as Don gave Leo a helpless look then lied. "Uh... there was this- er, person and he just randomly came into the apartment and kicked Casey's ass."

Casey groaned and reached out and blindly fumbled around for a second before managing to pat Don's shell and said weakly. "You tell em Don." Don reached back and patted Casey's hand absently then looked back at his brothers. Now Raph and Mikey were giving him funny looks right along with Leo.

"Where's April?" Raph asked as he walked over to Casey and shoved Don out of the way so that he could see his wounds better.

"In the bedroom. Asleep. I sort of had to tranq her..._three times_."

"What for?" Mikey asked innocently as Raph gave his brother an bemused look as Leo sighed.

God of all the times for April to snap- she wouldn't be of any use to her cousin in her current condition. Although now that he could see the damage she'd inflicted with his own two eyes, he was pretty sure that Casey might not be of much use to Setsuna either.

"It doesn't matter why Mikey. She just needs the rest." Leo said as he caught sight of something across the room on April's computer desk.

Her laptop was open and on the screen was the face of a young woman. Intriqued by the image he walked over to the computer and leaned down a little bit as Don finally said, "Oh by the way, that image is the one I captured of April's cousin earlier using that satelite I hijacked."

"This is her?" _Really?_ Leo thought in interest as Raph and Mikey came walking up behind him to look at the image frozen on April's screen.

"Whoa-" Mikey said in a breathless voice.

"That's April's cousin?" Raph asked in awe. Setsuna was a stone cold fox!

An exotic beauty with a perfect blend of Japanese and american features, Setsuna was a stunner from head to toe with her ivory skin and dark hair that curled around her face and shoulders. And her eyes... God Leo had never seen such a _perfect_ and more_ lovely_ color of turqouise before. But what really tugged at his mind was the little frown marring her otherwise perfect features.

As if she were worried.

"You said that she was two days drive from the city." Leo said as he looked away from the computer screen to address Don. His brother nodded.

"That's right. Two days, five hours and thirty two minutes if my math is correct."

"Which would put her in the city at what time?"

"Uh... three, no wait- four thirty. Why?"

"Which intersection will she hit at that time?"

"Uh... The main one I guess. Assuming of course that she doesn't decide to go another way into town. I kind of got the feeling that she is wary enough at the moment to go under April's radar and then some."

"If she does go under April's radar- where would she go? Do you have any ideas?"

"Too many possibilities to name at the moment but I can narrow things down to twenty spots if you really want to go that way."

Leo straightened his spine and looked back at the image on the screen for a moment then nodded his head. His eyes firmly fixed on the young woman's face, he found himself musing that fate was a funny thing. Here he was in his twenties with a limited contact with females and this woman- this damaged and pregnant woman- was tugging at his heart stings like no one ever had before.

And though he knew that she was a total stranger to him, it didn't stop the possessive train of thought filling his mind. Setsuna was his. His missing piece, his treasure, friend and mate.

And he was going to do everything he could to protect her as the word, _Mine,_ pounded through his skull like a jackhammer.

(************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************)

Setsuna had decided to stop for the day after a twelve hour drive, when she had started to feel sick to her stomach. Feeling that it was in her best interest she pulled off of the road at a hotel and got a room for the night. Once she was done getting a room she walked back out to the car on slightly unsteady legs and grabbed a few things from the car and once she reached her room, collapsed inside the door and threw up.

Panting she sat there on her hands and knees waiting for the next wave of nausea to pass before dragging herself further into the room and kicking the door closed before laying down a few feet from where she had gotten sick. Where she closed her eyes and fell into a dreamless sleep after swearing to herself that she'd clean her mess up later.


	9. Chapter 9

The next two days were far more tense than they should have been for the four turtles. Especially Leo. He'd sat down in the lair to meditate the first day and had felt as if he was going to go crazy. He'd started pacing and between his pacing there was ninjutu training. Which was a _huge_ mistake since Leo couldn't focus.

Today he'd been paired up with Mikey. And while that wasn't bad, he'd lost focus and for a brief moment he hadn't seen his little brother. He'd seen the man responsible for hurting Setsuna and getting her pregnant. He'd seen her frightened and crying face in his mind and had instinctively reacted to it. If not for Splinter and Raphs intervention he may have actually killed Mikey.

But that wasn't the worst part of his day.

No, the worst part was the fear he'd sparked in his little brother. Everytime he tried to apologize to him, Mikey would run from him and either seek out another one of their brothers to protect him or he would go to his room and hide there.

He had just decided to sit down outside of Mikey's bedroom and wait his brother out when Splinter appeared and motioned with his hand for Leo to come with him and talk.

That had been yesterday.

And while Leo wished he could say that today was a bit better, it wasn't. Not really. His talk with Splinter yesterday had yeilded little information on his behavior. But Leo had known what was going on after analizing what had happened with Mikey.

He had seen an image of his mate in his mind, scared, alone, _defensless, _being attacked by some unknown person and had reacted to it. Violently. His protective instincts had kicked into overdrive and demanded blood.

Causing him to almost take Mikey's head off..._literally_. Which was why today he hadn't bothered to practice with the others. He didn't dare. He was worried that he may lose focus again and actually hurt someone. So he'd stayed in his room, sitting in the floor, staring at the clock that Don had found and fixed for him for his birthday three years ago.

Anxiously waiting for the right time to head to the surface and find Setsuna. He heard the door to his bedroom open behind him and saw the shadowy outline of one of his brothers standing in the doorway. "So this is where you've gotten off too-" Damn it was Raph. No doubt he was there to pick a fight or something. Either that or he was going to make Leo feel even more guilty for what he'd done to Mikey. "I wondered when you didn't show up for training this morning." Raph continued, his tone oddly light and devoid of his usual anger.

"How is Mikey?"

"Jumpy. He keeps acting like he expects you to come jumping out at him. I think he thinks that you intend to finish him off."

Leo twitched a bit at this information and clenched his teeth until his jaw ached. _Ow. Ow, that hurt. _"I wouldn't do something like that."

"I know that. Hell, even Don and Splinter know that. But if you had seen the look on your face yesterday, you'd be pretty damn freaked too." Raph said in a soft tone as he stepped into Leo's room and closed the door behind him. Leo turned to look at him through narrowed eyes and asked,

"What are you doing?"

Raph ignored him for a moment. Just long enough to make his way over to where Leo was and wedge himself inbetween Leo and the wall. "I want to talk." Leo snorted. Raph wanted to talk.

_Dear god hell must have frozen over. _Leo thought in shock as Raph made himself comfortable. "Talk to me fearless leader. Tell me what's going on in that mind of yours."

Leo gave him a funny look as he leaned back a little bit. "What is this? Are you a woman now? Are we dating?" Leo asked in an aghast tone. Raph blinked at him then grinned and made a smooching sound, intending to lighten things a bit and had to lean back to avoid being hit when Leo swung his fist at him.

"Whoa! Leo calm down. It was a joke."

Leo bared his teeth at his brother and growled low in his throat. "I know that."

"Then what are you trying to hit me for?" Raph asked in amusement.

"For fun." Leo snapped in irritation. He didn't have time for Raph's crazy mind games. He needed to keep his eye one the clock.

Raph snorted. "Talk to me Leo. Tell me why you've been acting so anxious." Leo glanced at his brother, his expression guarded.

"So you've picked up on that."

"Yeah. Splinter and Don have too. I think Mikey has picked up on it in his own little way, he simply doesn't understand what it is that has you so tied up in knots. So tell me Leo, what is it that's bugging you so badly that you would lose control of yourself and almost kill one of us?"

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"So it's a secret. That's fine, man. I won't tell anyone." Raph said. Leo sighed, he didn't particularly like hiding things from his family but...maybe it wouldn't hurt for someone to know.

"Do you remember when you were fifteen and had that huge, huge crush on Pamela Anderson? You kept trying to leave the lair to go find her and eventually Splinter had to tie you to your bed."

Raph blinked at him and then got a whistful smile on his face. "Oh yeah. I remember. She was on that TV show Baywatch back then. Rockin body, long legs, nice-" Leo's glare nearly caused him to bite his tongue off as he fell silent.

"I remember you yelling and screaming at Splinter and the rest of us not to interfere. That she was yours-" Raph sat up a little bit straighter now, his dark eyes fixed on his brother in concern.

"Shortly after that Don and Mikey went through the same phase."

"I wouldn't know anything about that-" Raph said as an uneasy feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. "I was locked up for a month if you'll recall."

"You seemed to hate Splinter for doing that-" Raph snorted and shook his head.

"You'd have hated him too if you missed out on a chance to get with someone you were crushing on." Raph said with a small cynical smile.

"Did you know that I never went through that phase?" Leo asked. Raph blinked at him and shook his head no as wariness crept into his expression. "Do you recall master sitting us all down and telling us that we would all got though such phases? Do you recall what he called it?"

Raph swallowed and muttered, "Mating season."

"When our instincts will override common sense and goodwill and force us to seek out a mate... Well, I think I've found mine." Leo said as he turned his head to look at his brother again, noting his brother's '_Oh shit'_ expression before Raph asked.

"But Leo, how is it possible that you never went through mating season before? The rest of us have gone through it several times since then. Hell, even master Splinter has gone through it a few times."

"I think it's because I've never been all that interested in finding a mate or settling down. I've never even considered the qualities I would like in a mate."

"Then what's changed that?"

Leo took a deep breath unsure if he should answer this question or not. He was pretty sure that Raph would freak out on him once he knew what had caught his attention. Still his brother had a right to know and all Leo could think to say was summed up in one word. "Setsuna."


	10. Chapter 10

Raph's mind came to a screetching halt for a moment as he stared at his older brother in stunned disbelief. Setsuna? April's cousin? Setsuna the troubled-confused-pregnant-rape victim? He blinked as Leo inhaled sharply, waiting for him to respond. And when Raph finally did, it wasn't what Leo expected to hear.

"Well...uh... I know that we don't know much about her but she's a pretty gal. And being kin to April is another plus so maybe things could work out for you if you have the chance..." Raph said awkwardly. Leo exhaled the breath that he had been holding and gave his brother a small smile.

"Thanks Raph."

"_Oh_- Don't thank me yet Leo. First I want to know your reasons. Why her?" Leo gave him a strange look as if he didn't understand his question at first, then after a moment or so got an _Oh_ look on his face as understanding dawned on him.

"I think it's partially because she needs someone to look out for her and protect her. She's fragile, yet in her own way enduring. But her strength is slightly superficial. One small kink in the armor and the rest of it could fall away stripping her bare."

"So you chose her because she's a princess in need of a white knight? Please tell me that that isn't the only reason's why you chose her."

"They aren't. But I won't figure out the rest until I get a good feel for her personality."

"Oh...well... That should be easy." Raph said wryly. "All you have to do is show up at her place one night and say, I'm here to mate with you. Then she'll scream, possibly miscarry the baby-"

"Shut up Raph. You make it sound like I would endanger her for my own selfish reasons." Leo growled in an irked tone that Raph had never heard before. Putting his hands up in a placating gesture, Raph tried to convey that he meant no harm by what he'd said. He'd just been pointing out things that may have slipped Leo's mind. After all April's cousin was not only in a delicate condition, but a delicate place in her life where she needed to regain her _control_ and _independence_.

The last thing she needed right this moment was having a ninja stalker. God knew that that in itself could be frightening for those who didn't _know_ of them or _understand_ what they were.

Seeing Leo even for a split second could cause her to go into shock and miscarry. Or worse, to feel as if she may need psychological help. And god knew how Leo would react to that.

"Look Leo all I'm saying is that you need to be careful about moving too fast. Don't show yourself until she's comfortable with your presence and has a good feel for your personality. Don't do too much for her or she'll become helpless. Don't do too little for her or she'll feel as if she isn't cherished. Find a way to strike a balance without endangering her or the baby." Raph said as he put a hand on Leo's shoulder and used his brother to help himself up then quietly left the room.

Leaving Leo gaping at his back in stunned disbelief. Holy hell, when had Raph become so grown up?

(*********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************)

Splinter sat in his room with a large wooden chest open in front of him, staring at the contents. The crisp white lace and the semi traditional wedding gown that he had sewn for his eldest son's mate when his sons had all been but children.

He reached into the chest and carefully picked up the pale blue and purle and silver circle of flowers meant for his future daughter in law to wear in her hair and for the millionth time since the day he had woven the stems together, looked it over with a critical eye. His son's didn't know about the wedding dress, veil and flowers. Nor did they know about the sterling sivler wedding bands that he had made for each of them and their 'possible' human counterparts when he had been younger.

He opened his mouth to speak but then shut it, realizing that telling the items that they would soon find their way into someone's hands was pointless. Clothing had no will. No mind. Yet he sensed that something was at work with his eldest son.

He knew that it was highly probable that Leonardo had finally gone into his mating season. Which could be why he had attacked Mikey during training. After all he'd started to notice various things about his elder son's behavior that were similar to his other son's when they had gone through their mating season.

He was acting more anxious, like he was waiting for something and was worried that too much time may have passed. He was irritable. He had less of an appetite and hadn't been eating much.

In fact, if Splinter had to guess he'd think that his eldest son might have already found his mate and was merely anxious about how to make his move on her. The thought was a little bit amusing, but only the smallest bit since Splinter knew his son's personality so well.

Leo was quiet, reserved, thoughtful, feircely protective- and when he gave his heart over to something he did so without holding back. But those were only the surface qualities of his personality.

He was also shy, supportive, gentle, and _awkward_- dear lord the boy was awkward. The first time Leo had ever said anything to April had been after they had met, when he had been trying to make friends with her. He had embarrassed himself and her. So much so that April had had to leave the lair for an hour or so just to compose herself before coming back and trying to talk to him again.

_I hope whoever he chooses will take those aspects of his personality into consideration._ Splinter thought as he put the circle of flowers back into the chest then carefully closed the lid. Once again shutting the contents away as he thought, _But most of all I hope whoever she is, she makes him happy._


	11. Chapter 11

4:15 pm-

Leo had managed to coerce all four of his brothers into a trip to the surface to see if they could find Setsuna when she came into town. And was standing on the roof of an old abandoned building with his arms crossed over his plastron. His dark eyes skimming the various cars, trucks and other vehicles. While Don worked on a small computer that he had brought and set up a few feet from them.

Trying to see if he could find her driver's license and what sort of car she might be driving. It took about fifteen minutes but finally he found what he was looking for and let out a whistle to get Leo's attention before calling out, "She's using the alias Stephenie Mc'corban and she is driving a mint green Ford."

"Truck or car?" Raph called back as he stepped close to the ledge of the building that they were using to spy on the streets below. His dark eyes going from one vehicle to another before shifting to his older brother who was eerily still a few feet from him.

"Car. New."

"Got it!" Both Leo and Raph called back as they hunkered down and started to watch the roads. Ten minutes passed and they didn't see hide nor hair of Setsuna or her vehicle. Worried Leo cast Don a concerned look and was about to ask him to pull up video of traffic stops and locate her when Don said in a sing song voice.

"Pat-ie-nce. You have to remember that she's at least a month along in her pregnancy. You need to factor in bathroom breaks, fainting spells-"

"F-Fainting spells?" Leo echoed stupidly and turned his head to look at Raph who shrugged as if to say, _'I'd like to reassure you but that's the first I've heard of it too._' Don hummed and typed something into his computer then cheerfully started to list off different things that different women went through during pregnancy.

"Morning sickness, dizziness, fainting spells, cravings, weight gain, heightened senses, heightened pheromone levels and libido-" Raph made a funny sound and slapped Leo on the back and whispered in his ear.

"Lucky dog." As Don continued with his list.

"Tender breasts, lactation, swollen ankles, mood swings-"

"Okay, okay, Don please! No more!" Leo cried as he flushed. Raph caught his eye and smirked at him knowing what had done him in. The mention of heightened pheromones, and libido coupled with the words 'tender breasts' had embarrassed Leo _badly_. And the fact that Don was more or less announcing those things out loud in their presence was also embarrassing to their older brother.

After all, he'd chose Setsuna as his mate. And the last thing he wanted was anyone discussing her body functions.

Mikey watched from the far corner of the roof through slightly narrowed eyes as Leo flushed and took a swipe at Raph for something he'd just whispered to him and cocked his head. _What the hell? _He wondered curiously. Why was Raph suddenly acting so much like Leo used too? Why was he whispering to Leo?

Why were they even here? In broad daylight, in an area where they could easily be seen if someone cared to take the time to look closely enough.

He wanted to ask but figured that if he bothered, Leo might try to take his head off again. So instead he turned his eyes to the street below and watched the cars turning off of the main highway and thought that he spotted a mint green Ford. He looked back at Leo and saw that he was distracted by Don and was about to say something when he figured that he could get back at his brother for scaring him the other day by saying nothing at all.

After all, it wasn't like he would be hurting anyone by not mentioning to Leo that Setsuna had just turned off of the highway and was currently heading north past the building they were standing on.

(*******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************)

Setsuna had been driving since ten p.m the night before just to make it to New York before six. She was beyond tired. She was exhausted really. But despite how tired she was she wanted to get to April's old apartment building before she collapsed.

She still had forty five minutes until she reached the building and in that time she found herself fiddling with the radio dials, turning on the air conditioner then turning it off- just in an effort to keep herself awake. She finally settled on an oldies radio station and was listening to Whitesnake's, Here I go Again when she felt an odd numbness seeping into her mind.

A moment later her eyes drifted closed and she slumped over in her seat and tugged the wheel to the left where it slowly veered into the path of a semi.

(********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************)

Everything unfolded slowly for Leonardo as he turned his head to look back down at the streets just in time to spot Setsuna's mint green Ford veering into the opposite lane. Right into the path of a semi.

His heart stuttered in his chest as he blindly reached out and grabbed Raph with a shakey hand as he saw the car get hit in the back, close to where the trunk was causing the smaller vehicle to spin wildly out of control before coming to a stop upon slamming into a telephone pole.

He stared at the mess of twisted metal and broken glass in horror as he heard Raph mutter a savage oath and move away from him, his arm slipping from Leo's limp fingers as he ran across the rooftop and leaped over the side of the building where the fire escape was so that he could make his way down. His heart pounding in his chest in anger and fear.

Dammit Leo had just found this girl, and he'd be damned if he just stood back and watched her die. Not when it meant losing his brother too.

He reached the ground in record time and looked up to see Don and Mikey close behind and wondered if anyone had thought to stay with Leo and take his swords from him just in case. But he couldn't think of that at this moment, right now he needed a way to reach the wrecked car without being seen.

"Raph? What the hell? I don't think I've ever seen you move that fast before." Don exclaimed as he landed on the ground just a few inches shy of where Raph was. His expression both upset and worried.

"Forget about how fast I moved, I need to reach that car."

"What for? Mikey has already placed a call to nine-one-one. So they should be here soon."

"Look brainiac, don't argue with me. Don't even ask questions. Just find a way to get me over to that car." Don opened his mouth to ask why when Raph growled and grabbed him and slammed the back of his shell against the side of the building and snarled.

"I just want to make sure that the fucking driver isn't in mortal danger. Now do your damned job and get me over there! Mikey!" Raph barked causing his little brother to jump in alarm. "Go back up to the roof and keep Leo from commiting suicide." Raph said as he let Don go and turned away from them to stare at the wreckage while Mikey got a striken look on his face and quickly scrambled back up the fire escape.

_God don't let the driver be Setsuna_.


	12. Chapter 12

Leo stood where he had been before, his katana blades drawn as he stared at the twisted metal of the mint green ford with his heart in his mouth. Setsuna. His Setsuna... The human girl he had chosen as his mate-_ Oh god let her and the baby die swiftly and without pain_, He thought as he closed his eyes in an effort to shut out the sounds of vehicles screetching to a halt, people shouting for help into their cell phones as they ran up to the car.

And lifted both of his swords so that the razor thin blades were touching his throat. His arms crossed over his chest.

All he had to do was drop forward until the hilts were touching the stone in front of him. Then he could be with his chosen mate and her child. He'd have the family that was being denied him in this life.

He would be dishonoring himself by taking his own life, at least in the eyes of his father and brothers.

But surely someone would understand the pain and devastation he felt in his chest. Perhaps someone would even forgive him. After all hadn't he been a good and caring person in life? Hadn't he saved the lives of millions with the help of his brothers and friends? He let the blades bite into his skin a bit and felt the trickle of blood run down his neck a moment before he heard his youngest brother, Mikey, yell in horror.

"Leo! No!" A second before something heavey slammed into him and knocked him to the ground, sending both of his katana blades skittering off in different directions. He snarled, his mind suddenly gone into a red haze as he thought, _How dare he! _

How dare Mikey stop him from joining with his other family in the world beyond!

"Get off of me!" He snarled, his normally serene features twisted in rage as he threw the smaller turtle off of him and across the roof. But Mikey was nothing if not persistent. Instead of staying down, he rolled a few feet then took up a defensive stance, ready to fight his older brother to keep him alive if he had too.

"Stay out of my way Mikey or I'll make you regret it." Leo growled in warning as he took a step towards the nearest katana and was forced to stop when a few shuriken hit the ground just shy of his feet. **_Red _**shuriken.

This was Mikey's warning. His way of telling his brother that if he took even one more step towards his katana, he would get the ass kicking of a life time. Which gave Leo pause because he had seen what Mikey could do when pushed. The only question now was, Would he take that final step? Would he push Mikey into an all out battle over a woman he had never even met yet was strangely attached too with all his heart and soul?

"Your move Leo..." Mikey said in a growling tone. His normally warm blue eyes, icey. His weapons in his hands, ready to be used at the slightest hint of movement from Leo.

His eldest brother looked at him, for a moment the red haze clouding his mind receding. Just long enough for Leo to realize how dangerous his current situation was. If he fought with Mikey, he would kill him. He could see that Mikey knew it too from the way he stared at him with cold lifeless eyes. "Can't you just leave me be?" Leo asked, his voice a broken plea for mercy.

Mikey shifted a little bit but said nothing. They all knew the rules. And they would all go home to their father or else none of them would.

Leo closed his eyes and tried hard not to cry. Must he lose all of his family in one day? He heard the crunching of gravel under Mikey's feet. Knew that he was trying to get behind him. Tears slipped down his face as he tried hard to breathe. He felt like he was suffocating! "You'll have to make it quick Mikey. I don't want to hurt you or the others- _Oh!"_ Leo hit the ground with a loud thud as Mikey's weapon hit him in the back of the head hard enough to split his skull.

(**************************************************************************************************************************************************************)

Donatello had managed to find a way over to the car for Raph, thankfully there was another manhole on the side of the street, just a few feet from the car. So while people were pulling the driver from the wreckage and laying her out on her back on the ground, Raph was surveying the damage. Setsuna was in fairly good shape all things considering.

Though her forehead was bruised and bloody, and she had several gnashes and a bloody lip. It was the blood staining her shirt from her shoulder that worried him some. That and what the impact of the wreck could have done to her baby.

She wasn't crying. Didn't seem to really be in pain. Just sort of dazed, which was good since he had to wait until everyone was checking her car for various reasons. Mainly because they were just nosey- as he came out of the sewer just long enough to run his hand along her wounded arm without hurting her and place his shell cell in her hand and close her fingers around it so that it wouldn't be lost.

She turned her head and looked up at him for a moment, and he held his breath, unable to do anything else since moving might cause her to scream and was startled when she frowned and murmered, "Kame?" before her eyes slid closed and she slipped into unconsiousness.

_And that is my cue to leave._ Raph thought as he reached out and rubbed her arm again as he whispered, "Stay safe baby sister." And disappeared into the sewer again. Don had probably watched the whole thing and had questions, but Raph didn't care. All that was in his mind at the moment was that his older brother's life hinged on Setsuna's life.


	13. Chapter 13

Setsuna didn't recall being pulled from the twisted wreckage of her rental vehicle. Nor did she remember her trip to the hospital, or the fact that she had had surgery to save her baby before April had been called. She wasn't aware fo being in a coma for a week or the chaos she had wrought in the sewers below the bustling streets where Leo lay in Donatello's lab, tied to one of the beds there- heavily drugged.

His mind was slow but conscious. And in mourning.

_Setsuna_.

His mate.

The other half of his heart and soul was gone. He knew it. He could almost feel it, the pain of her demise was so strong that it had sent slivers of agony through his heart like tiny knives and razors. Ripping and shredding. Piercing the farthest part of his being.

He closed his eyes and bit back a distressed sound, _Oh god it hurt. _It hurt to breathe, to see the hopeful looks of his family and friends each day when he wanted nothing more than to die and follow his mate.

"Leo?" He heard Raph say as he slowly walked into Don's lab to check on him. Leo turned his head away from his brother. He didn't want to socialize right now. He wanted to be left in peace. "I just got a call from April..." Raph tried again to strike up a conversation with him but Leo refused to respond though he was curious as to what April had to say. She had been Setsuna's family after all. Which made her_ his_ family. Raph hesitated for a moment then moved to sit in the empty seat that Master Splinter had left just a little while ago when he had been trying to coax Leo to eat.

Finally Raph spoke again, his voice a little more sure. "April called to say that Setsuna was still in a coma for the time being, but earlier today she showed signs of trying to wake up. The doctors are watching her, and say that she should wake up any time now."

Leo frowned, wondering what trick his brother was playing on him as he turned his head to glare at him and rasped in a rough sounding voice, "You lie. Setsuna is dead." Normally for one who blew his lid at being called a liar, bastard, or anything really- Raph seemed strangely calm as he looked the blue banded turtle over with those eeire amber eyes of his.

"She isn't dead Leo. She was alive when she was taken to the hospital. I even checked on her myself a few nights ago. She and the baby are alive- a bit banged up and bruised- but alive nevertheless."

Leo closed his eyes and let his breath leave his lungs in a long hiss as a tear slipped down one side of his face before he opened his eyes again and gave his brother a warning look before saying softly, "Please don't lie to me Raph. Even if it's to keep me here, please don't lie." The words, _I would never forgive you- _hung unsaid between them as Raph sighed and took out his shellcell and flipped it open as he said,

"Look man, I get it. You're in your mating season and Setsuna is 'the one', then seeing her in that mess... If I were in your place I'd go crazy too. That's why-" Raph pressed several buttons on the phone and the dim room was suddenly filled with a small bright light. Leo had to blink several times just to get his eyes to adjust. "I'd want some evidence too in your place."

And when he opened his eyes again, the image on the small screen took his breath away. It was just so freaking unbeleavable.

There in the image was Setsuna, laying on her back in a hospital bed, a thin white cotton gown covering her. One hand had an IV in it and the other hand rested over the slight swell of her stomach. Glancing down at the bottom of the screen, Leo checked to see when the picture was taken and nearly had another breakdown.

Three days.

It had been taken three days ago.

He started to tug at the straps binding him to the bed, his mind suddenly frantic. He needed to get free, he needed to go to her. She was unconsious. Unprotected. Vulnerable to any and all attacks.

Raph set his phone aside and patted him on the shoulder before saying, "Hold up fearless, ya can't go running round the city in your condition. Wait for the drug to wear off- then I'll help get you out of here."


	14. Chapter 14

_"Look man, I get it. You're in your mating season and Setsuna is 'the one', then seeing her in that mess... If I were in your place I'd go crazy too. That's why-" Raph pressed several buttons on the phone and the dim room was suddenly filled with a small bright light. Leo had to blink several times just to get his eyes to adjust. "I'd want some evidence to prove that she was alive too, if I were in your place."_

_And when he opened his eyes again, the image on the small screen took his breath away. It was just so freaking unbeleavable._

_There in the image was Setsuna, laying on her back in a hospital bed, a thin white cotton gown covering her. One hand had an IV in it and the other hand rested over the slight swell of her stomach. Glancing down at the bottom of the screen, Leo checked to see when the picture was taken and nearly had another breakdown._

_Three days._

_It had been taken three days ago. That was three days he had spent grieving and trying to escape his brothers. Hell if it wasn't for Raph and his constant updates, Leonardo would likely have taken his own life by now._

_He started to tug at the straps binding him to the bed, his mind suddenly frantic. He needed to get free, he needed to go to her. She was unconsious. Unprotected. Vulnerable to any and all attacks._

_Raph set his phone aside and patted him on the shoulder before promising, "Hold up fearless, ya can't go running round the city in your condition. Wait for the drug to wear off- then I'll help get you out of here." _

_(************************************************* ****************************)_

Two days later-

Raph had vonlenteered himself to sit with him again. Baffling even their master who had insisted that he rest. Leo almost snorted at the thought. Raph wouldn't- no, couldn't sleep now. No matter how worn out he was. He'd made a promise. One that he was very insistant on keeping if the fact that he had more or lesss pushed their aging father out of their brother's lab meant anything at all.

"How long has it been?" Leo asked the second his brother settled down in the chair next to his 'sick bed' and waited for a reply. He heard Raph take his phone out and set it down on the small table where Leo could see the new picture of Setsuna that he had taken earlier that day at dusk.

Leo stared at the new picture with a total look of reverence as Raph said, "She woke up earlier today when I was taking this-" Leo's eyes went straight to his own, his expression questioning for a moment. Noting Raph's general hesitation before he said in a nervous tone. "And... She sort of saw me."

Leo's expression was serene for a moment before turning thunderous. "What?" He growled from between clenched teeth. His eyes flashing with rage.

If he hadn't been tied down to the bed, Raph would be missing some teeth. And possibly have a broken jaw to boot.

But as it was he was helpless and Raph was the only person who knew what was going on and why. So for now he would have to just curb his temper and let Raph handle everything until he got loose. Then and only then would he take over.

"Chill Leo-" Raph said as he reached out to untie one of Leo's wrists. "She didn't freak. She had questions, yeah, but she didn't freak." Raph said as Leo flexed his wrist then started to undo the restraint on his other wrist to get the blood flowing again.

"In fact," Raph continued. "She's waiting for someone else to appear to her. I think she thinks it's me, but I'll have you do it since she's your mate."

"Thank's Raph," Leo rasped, his throat dry from all the hours he'd spent under the influence of Don's sleeping drugs. "How's the baby? Was it hurt in the wreck?" Leo finally gathered up the courage to ask. His tone concerned. Raph gave him a half hearted smile before replying.

"Setsuna had some internal bleeding in the womb and the baby almost died, but thanks to her doctors everything will be fine now. Both she and the baby are being monitored 24/7 to make sure that there are no complications and April and Casey have been visiting her during the day... Everything will be fine Fearless." Raph assured him.

Leo let out a long exhale and closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again and saying in a low half growling tone, "They better be." The words, Or else, hung unsaid in the air between them.

That was his family laying unprotected in the hospital, and he'd be damned if he lost them to anyone or anything.


	15. Chapter 15

Setsuna was sitting up in her hospital bed, her eyes on the dark haired man sitting next to her bed whom had identified himself as Casey Jones. Her cousin April's husband- telling her not to worry about anything. April was handling Aunt Marie and other issues, like where she was going to live, and making appointments for her to see a theropist and such.

She felt Casey take her smaller hand in his and give her a sweet smile as the door to her room opened and April walked in with a whole bag of goodies for her and her husband.

"Okay, the gift shop is now officially out of magazines, books, get well cards, and candy. Speaking of which- Casey here's your candy bar and soda," April said as she fished out a Hersey's bar and Coke.

Casey released Setsuna's hand and made a happy sound as he took the candy and coke and then said, "You're the best babe."

April grinned at him and pulled some more stuff out of the bag before asking in a teasing tone, "Well isn't that why you married me?" Casey looked his wife over for a moment, his mind automatically recognizing the trap she was waiting for him to step in as he stuffed as much of his candy bar in his mouth as he could and nodded his head._ Slowly_.

After all, women like April could smell fear on a man from a mile away and tended to pounce at the damndest times.

So it was best to say nothing and let her draw her own conclusions. April gave him a sideways look and a knowing smirk and Casey let out a mental sigh of relief as he reached for another candy bar and tore at the wraper.

_Whew._ _Dodged that bullet._ He thought as he swallowed what was in his mouth and took a small drink of his coke before biting into his new candy bar. The room lapsed into total silence for a moment before April set something light weight in Setsuna's lap, earning a startled look from the young woman as April smiled and said. "I also found those at the gift shop downstairs and just couldn't resist. I hope that you don't mind."

Setsuna looked her cousin for a moment before carefully reaching into the plastic bag sitting in her lap and pulling out two baby outfits, both onesies. One was a light pink with a purple butterfly on it. And the other was a light blue with a little green sea turtle on it. Setsuna gently ran her fingertips over the little turtle design as her eyes started to sting with unshed tears.

It was cute- the little outfit was perfect for her baby weather it was a boy or not.

"Thanks April. They're really cute." She said after a moment or so of trying to think of what to say before asking, "You talked to Aunt Marie earlier?" April's sunny smile faltered and Casey stopped stuffing his face, both elders looking uncomfortable for a moment before April said,

"Yeah. And as usual she's a bitch... She claims that you stole money from her-"

Setsuna's head came up and her grip on the onesie in her hand became white knuckled as she thought, _That witch! That was the money mom and dad left for me when they died and she actually thinks she has any claim to it. I'll burn it first! _"She said that if you don't return her money, she'll have you arrested for attempting to kill her."

"Oh she did, did she." Setsuna said in a flat tone devoid of any warmth.

"Look Set, I know you. You're not a thief. The only reason that I can think of for you taking anything, is if it belonged to you or your late parents. Will you tell us what happened? Ya know, just so we can refute her claim."

"She was hitting me with her cane,"

"Cherry oak one?" April asked, her mind trying to process the information. Setsuna nodded her head and wiped at her eyes with the back of one hand while Casey said,

"Well, dat explains some of the markings on you. The doctor asked about them several times but we couldn't tell them nothin." April made a shushing sound and Casey automatically shut up, wanting to hear the rest of Setsuna's story.

"Marie was pissed because she caught me taking the money that mom and dad left to me when they died. She thought beating me would make me give up on taking it. Like you said, she thinks she has a claim to it. But that wasn't nearly as bad as what she screamed at me the whole time she was hitting me..."

"What did she say Setsuna?" April asked as she fisted her hands in her lap. Her mind awhirl at this latest bit of outrage.

"S-She said that if I wanted money so damn bad that I could go and earn it like a whore." Setsuna sniffled as the tears that had been threatening to spill, finally made their way down her face as both April and Casey gasped in horror.

"T-That bitch!" Casey growled as he suddenly shot to his feet then all but shouted at April, "I knew you should have let me run her over with the car at our wedding. Especially after what she did to Splinter. That rotten old-"

"Casey, shut up!" April snapped at him as she got up from her seat and wrapped her arms around her crying little cousin. Casey stopped in mid rant and looked down at Setsuna who had her knees drawn up to her chest, her shoulders were hunched and she was shaking.

_Shit. _Casey thought as he forced himself to calm down then sat back down in his chair and reached for Setsuna's hand and took it in his again and simply remained silent while April worked on calming her little cousin down.

(************************************************* ************************************************** ***)

Nightfall came slowly to the city as Donatello's drugs finally ran their course through Leo's body.

Sitting up on the cot in the lab, Leo rubbed his wrist and looked at his twin brother. It was time to go. Setsuna was waiting for him. And he was eager to see her too. "You ready Raph?" He asked as he slipped from of the cot.

His brother gave him a smirk. "Ready as I'll ever be." Raph replied as he shifted in the shadows until he had stepped forward into the light where he could be seen.

"Alright, lets go."


	16. Chapter 16

Leo and Raph made it to the hospital in record time due to the fact that Leo had run through the sewers like a man possessed. Raph understood his brother's need to get to his family. Truly he did. After all Setsuna was unprotected- something that Leo would have never allowed in the first place if she hadn't have been in that accident and he hadn't have freaked out thinking she was dead.

His warriors instinct to covet what he held dear simply wouldn't have allowed him to let such a thing happen.

So again he understood why his brother was running at such breakneck speed through the knee deep dirty water, and across slick surfaces- preforming acrobatics and other feats that even Raph had never seen him pull off before in his life. Risking his life... All for the sake of reaching his mate.

The moment they hit the surface and scaled the building across from the hospital, Raph doubled over panting. His breath ragged from trying to keep up with Leo's killer pace. _Christ!_ He thought as he shook his head and glanced at his brother. If that was how fast the turtle moved when he was just anxious- then he could only imagine how much faster he would manage to move after meeting Setsuna.

Especially if the baby came while he was with her.

Now there was a shudder worthy thought. Raph thought as he straightened his back and walked over to Leo who was just barely holding himself in check. He was anxiously shifting from foot to foot while trying to find her room's window. All while emitting little growling churrs.

Raph looked at him. Hard. Trying to silently will him to _stop doing that_. It was gross for him to hear such sounds from his brother. Especially when he could already imagine what was going through his mind. And none of it was PG 13 rated.

"Dude," Raph said in a scandalized tone as he glared at Leo for a moment. "Stop making happy sex sounds! It's gross!"

Leo looked over at him and for a second the sound died down to nothing. Raph sighed in relief then suddenly... Leo starts making the sound again. Only this time louder. Raph turns his head just enough to give him a death glare and notes the evil smirk on his brother's face and his jaw almost drops in shocked disbelief.

That. Bastard.

He was playing with him! Possibly in an attempt to drive him away from here so that he could meet his mate alone, but after the strange way he'd been behaving lately- Raph didn't think that was a good idea. He might lose control and try to do something that could possibly hurt her or the baby. And that was something that Raph absolutely couldn't allow.

Not if this girl was going to be his sister-in-law.

(******************************************************************************************************************************)

Leo glanced away from his brother knowing very well how uncomfortable his growling churrs were to him and looked back at the building across the way and closed his eyes for a moment. _Setsuna- _She was so close now. Closer than she had been before. And oh gods he wanted to see and touch her!

Wanted- no, _needed_ to run his hands along the slender column of her throat and feel her pulse, beating strongly under his fingertips. To run his hands along her sides and feel her lungs move behind her ribs as she inhaled and exhaled. He wanted to bury his face against her stomach and talk to the baby. Tell him/her that he would be an awesome dad despite the obvious differences in species.

And other people's dad's weren't green because they just plain sucked.

Inhaling deeply, Leo continued to look over the building a bit more before asking, "Which window leads to Setsuna's room?"

Raph was silent for a moment before lifting a hand and pointing at one window in particular with the curtains drawn and the lights out. "That one."

"Alright," Leo said as he dug into the little hand sewn pouch attached to his belt and pulled out a length of rope attached to a small hook. "Time to go."

(******************************************************************************************************************************)

Setsuna lay in her hospital bed, trying to sleep yet feeling strangely...what was the word? Tense? Restless? No it was more like she was anxious. All day today she had kept wondering if the strange man/turtle...creature thingy- was going to return again tonight. And because she seemed to be awaiting the man/turtle creature thingy- she just couldn't seem to relax.

Sighing tiredly she shifted a little, noting the various aches and pains in her battered and bruised body then settled down again and closed her eyes and tried to focus on counting as many beats of her heart as she could. She probably got to twenty eight or something when she heard a very faint, almost whispery sound and frowned.

So it had come back again after all. She thought as she opened her eyes and glanced towards the direction of the sound and almost leaped out of bed and screamed when she realized that, yeah, the man/turtle thingy had come back alright.

And he'd brought a friend with him.

A frightening, intimidating...friend.

"It's okay," The one wearing the red mask said in a low, soothing tone as he extended his hand towards her in what she guessed was supposed to be a non threatening way. Although after the past couple of nights when he had visited her- she was a mite curious as to what he could possibly want from her enough to bring a friend along on one of his visits. She just hoped it was nothing too sinister. "We just came to see if you and the baby were doing okay." He said, trying his best to keep his tone light.

She frowned at him as she turned over his words in her head. _"We just wanted to see if you and the baby were doing okay." _His words insinuated that he knew about her accident as well as her pregnancy. How the hell was that even possible? She wondered as she opened her mouth and replied.

"We're fine." Keeping her reply cool and abrupt. Trying to show that this was not a subject that she wished to speak of with total strangers for any reason.

"Don't be angry," The other man/turtle thingy- this one with the blue mask, said very gently. His tone almost pleading. "We saw you from the rooftops the day you had your accident. My brother pried you out of the twisted metal and called for an ambulance... We worried about what happened to you. So we came by to check on you and see if you were...doing well."

"The Kame I saw. It- He was one of you?"

The red masked man/turtle raised his hand. "Yeah... That was me."

"Thank you for that."

"No prob, little sister." Red said, earning a funny look from Blue as she frowned.

Little sister? What was that about?


	17. Chapter 17

"S-Sister?" Setsuna's mind grasped onto the word like a life line as she asked timidly, "Why did you just call me little sister?" Leo shot Raph a glare that spelled trouble with a capital **_T_** for the red banded turtle as he quickly tried to backtrack.

"W-Well what I-I meant was- We kami's are all related to you humans...seeing as you are like our creations and such so we sort of think-" Raph stumbled over the lie so much that if he had been moving his feet, he would have tripped. Repeatedly. So naturally Leo gave his younger brother of several minutes a strange look before deciding to step in and save him before he metaphorically broke something.

He took a deep breath and stepped forward and bowed to Setsuna before saying in a formal tone, "What my brother means, Setsuna. Is that I have decided to take a wife. And have chosen you. If you will have me," He reached out and gently took her hand in his half expecting her to pull away at his touch. Yet was pleasantly surprised when she didn't. "I will act as husband to you, and father to the child within you. If..." Leo stopped talking for a moment to cast his little brother a strange look before getting down on one knee before continuing, "You'll have me, that is."

Setsuna blinked at him.

Her mind unable to comprehend the fact that a supposed 'guardian god' wanted her as it's bride. After all, though she had grown up with stories of guardian gods and such- she had never really imagined that any of the stories would be true. Not by a long shot. Especially now that she was pregnant with- _No!_ She didn't want to think on how her child was conceived. She would much rather think on her child's future.

It's happiness and well being and nothing else. At this point...she didn't dare dream of anything else.

S-She just couldn't. Blinking again, she realized that the guardian gods were still in the room with her. Waiting for her answer when she squeaked, somewhat embarrassed by the fact that she'd just spaced out as she said almost dimly, "I-I'm pregnant..." The two kami's nodded before the one in the blue spoke up again.

"We are aware of you're situation."

Pulling her hand free of Leo's, both he and Raph watched as she placed her hands over the small mound of her stomach before she said in a hushed tone, "I'm scared." The two exchanged a look and then said again,

"We are aware." Both of them hoping that what she next said would be a little more positive. Or possibly even a reply to Leo's proposal. But what she said next twisted both of their hearts like a knife.

"How could you possibly want someone who's been tainted by another?" Setsuna asked in a small tone, her eyes glittering with unshed tears as she held her stomach with both hands and looked for a lack of a better word..._crushed _beyond words.

Reaching out, Leo laid his hand against the soft curve of her cheek- His expression tender as he spoke to her in Japanese. Telling her that she was not tainted. That she could never be tainted, for her beauty and light was far too much to destroy. He wiped her tears away and called her his sacred flower, his love...

Setsuna listened for maybe a heartbeat or so before realizing his intentions to comfort her and then losing focus on what he was saying before he finally switched back to English and said very gently, "I care for nothing but you and you're child," Raph looked at his brother with a startled expression on his face and looked for a moment as if he might argue that Leo had just taken things too far. When he noted that _this_ was what happened during mating season and abruptly shut his mouth. "I want you to think over what I offer...and give me a favorable reply when next I return- Until then. Please rest and be well." Leo leaned in and kissed her cheek, taking the brief moment to inhale her scent deeply as he did so.

It would serve as a failsafe should the next time he come to see her and find her missing.

Pulling away had to be one of the hardest things that Leo had ever done before in his life. Especially when Setsuna was so damn close to him. But he had come here tonight for two reasons. One was to propose and the other was to check on her. He had done both. And now- now it was all a matter of waiting. And if Leonardo excelled at one thing... It was waiting to get what he wanted.

Slowly getting to his feet, Leo glanced over at Raph and motioned with his head for his brother to follow him as he headed for the window and disappeared.


End file.
